1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for moving, handling and mounting attachments onto a length of flexible material such as a length of tubing. One major problem encountered when handling flexible material such as tubing in a mass production operation is that the flexible material does not have sufficient rigidity to permit it to be pushed into and out of various areas and further does not have sufficient rigidity to permit it to be pushed onto or through various objects which must be attached onto the tubing. The present invention provides a unique method and several alternative apparatus embodiments for enabling a length of flexible material such as flexible tubing to be pushed for a specific distance and further enables the flexible material to be pushed into or onto various components which can thereby be attached to the tubing at any desired location along its length. One specific application for the present invention is its use as part of automatic machinery which can assemble units that must utilize a length of flexible tubing as part of the assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art applications for handling a length of flexible material such as tubing in mass production machine operations involves a very complex system of interrelated pulleys and levers which string the tubing along a chain of various paths in order to drive it through the machine until a proper length has been measured. At that time, the tubing is then cut. Numerous problems are encountered with the prior art applications. Due to the required complexity of the various mechanical systems for pulling the tubing, an excessive amount of friction is built up along the pulleys and therefore the length of tubing which can effectively be handled is limited. Since the tubing is strung in a wide-open manner, there is substantial opportunity for it to become entangled in various parts of the machine or to coil and tangle within itself. Since the tubing is pulled over and along many mechanical parts, there is substantial opportunity for it to become dented or scratched. All of the prior art methods use a series of mechanical parts which pull the flexible material such as tubing and therefore, there is no effective method to attach components at locations other than the two ends of the tubing. None of the prior art applications disclose any method by which the flexible material can be pushed to thereby enable it to be pushed onto or into components which must be attached along its length at locations other than the two ends.
Therefore, the prior art does not disclose any method or apparatus by which any desired length of tubing can be effectively and efficiently handled and which permits the length of flexible material such as tubing to be pushed onto or into various components such that the components can be placed at any desired location along the length of the material.